Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 9, 2025
07:26
Quantitative PCR-based Assay to Measure Sonic Hedgehog Signaling in Cellular Model of Ciliogenesis
Published on: January 31, 2025
714
Wnt Inhibitory Factor 1 Binds to and Inhibits the Activity of Sonic Hedgehog
Krisztina Kerekes1, Mária Trexler1, László Bányai1
1Institute of Enzymology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary.
Cells
|December 24, 2021
Summary
Wnt Inhibitory Factor 1 (WIF1) protein binds human sonic hedgehog (Shh) with high affinity. This interaction effectively inhibits Shh signaling, suggesting WIF1’s tumor suppressor role extends beyond Wnt pathway inhibition.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Hedgehog (Hh) and Wnt pathways are crucial for embryonic development and stem cell proliferation.
- Wnt Inhibitory Factor 1 (WIF1) regulates both Wnt and Hh pathways.
- WIF1 was initially identified as a Wnt antagonist, but its role in Hh pathway regulation was later discovered.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the interaction between human WIF1 protein and human sonic hedgehog (Shh).
- To investigate the inhibitory effect of human WIF1 on Shh signaling activity.
Main Methods:
- Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) spectroscopy to assess binding affinity.
- Reporter assays to monitor Shh signaling activity.
Main Results:
- Human WIF1 protein binds human Shh with high affinity.
- Human WIF1 efficiently inhibits the signaling activity of human Shh.
- WIF1 acts as a potent antagonist of Shh.
Conclusions:
- Human WIF1 protein directly interacts with and inhibits human Shh.
- The tumor suppressor activity of WIF1 may involve inhibition of the Hh pathway, not solely the Wnt pathway.
Related Concept Videos
02:33Hedgehog Signaling Pathway
7.7K
The Hedgehog gene (Hh) was first discovered due to its control of the growth of disorganized, hair-like bristles phenotype in Drosophila, much like hedgehog spines. Hh plays a crucial role in the development of organs and the maintenance of homeostasis in both invertebrates and vertebrates. However, while Drosophila has only one Hh protein, mammals have multiple functional Hedgehog proteins - Sonic (Shh), Desert (Dhh), and Indian Hedgehog (Ihh). All of these homologous proteins have adapted to...
7.7K
02:54Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway
9.2K
The gene encoding the main signaling molecules of the Wnt signaling pathways (the Wnt proteins) was discovered almost four decades ago by Nüsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus. They identified and originally named the gene "wingless" (wg) after a phenotype discovered during their landmark genetic screen in Drosophila for body pattern defects. At around the same time, another researcher named Harold Varmus found that a murine tumor virus activates the mammalian wg homolog, Int-1, which...
9.2K
01:41Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways
7.6K
Wnt is a zygotic effect gene that is expressed during very early embryonic development. It regulates various processes in animals starting from early development through the adult stage, such as organogenesis in the embryo and maintenance of neuronal and blood stem cells. Wnt proteins can induce a wide variety of intracellular pathways depending upon the specific abilities of different Wnt ligands to form a complex with shared and cognate receptors in the presence of different co-receptors. The...
7.6K
01:16TGF - β Signaling Pathway
8.0K
The TGF-β signaling pathway regulates cell growth, differentiation, adhesion, motility, and development. TGF-β ligands that induce TGF-β signaling are synthesized in their latent form. Several proteases or cell surface receptors such as integrins act upon the latent form, releasing the active ligand. There are three types of mammalian TGF-βs: (TGF-β1, TGF-β2, and TGF-β3) that bind as homodimers or heterodimers to TGF-β receptors. The TGF-β receptors...
8.0K
01:20The JAK-STAT Signaling Pathway
9.5K
Several cytokine receptors have tightly bound Janus kinase or JAK proteins attached at their cytosolic tail. Small signaling molecules such as cytokines, growth hormones, or prolactins bind to the cytokine receptors and initiate their dimerization. The dimerization brings the cytosolic JAKs together that trans-phosphorylate and activates each other. The activated JAKs now phosphorylate cytosolic tails of the cytokine receptors, which serve as binding sites for adaptor proteins such as SH2...
9.5K
03:14Notch Signaling Pathway
4.5K
The Notch signaling pathway is a major intracellular signaling pathway that is highly conserved over a broad spectrum of metazoan species. It stands unique from other intracellular signaling mechanisms in animals because notch protein itself acts as the receptor as well as the primary signaling molecule.
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not...
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not...
4.5K